The Washington-Rosenwald HBCU Scholarship Program is an exciting creative contest designed to inspire a new generation to revive the powerful partnership between the African American and Jewish communities that has helped to shape our country over the past century.
Open to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students and high school seniors planning to enroll in HBCUs, the contest encourages exploration of the impact of African American-Jewish alliances.
The goal is to help students further their education and support emerging leaders in achieving their aspirations.
This is a unique opportunity to honor a history of transformative collaboration, inspire renewed partnerships, and make a true difference in society.
This contest is a partnership between the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) and the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), with an honorary judging panel composed of leaders from the African American and Jewish communities.
A total of $25,000 in college scholarships will be awarded — five scholarships of $5,000 each, jointly funded by AAMA and CAM.
For more information and to enter the contest, please visit: info.combatantisemitism.org/hbcu-contest
Inspiration
The collaboration of Booker T. Washington (born in slavery yet became a renowned educator) and Julius Rosenwald (the son of immigrants who became the chairman of Sears-Roebuck) gives the contest its name. The two leaders together launched a network of nearly 5,000 schools for African American students across America’s segregated South and provided fellowships to over 500 outstanding students, including Maya Angelou and John Lewis.
The Washington-Rosenwald collaboration set the stage for the alliance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched arm and arm for civil rights. As Rabbi Heschel declared at the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Alabama: “When I march in Selma, my feet are praying.” In turn, Dr. King, shortly before his assassination in 1968, remarked: “I see Israel — and never mind saying it — as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world.”
The contest hopes to help spark a renewal of the historic African American-Jewish partnership in the spirit of Washington, Rosenwald, King, and Heschel — promoting education, supporting talented young leaders, and advancing principled mutual support.
When the African American and Jewish communities come together in true partnership, they have the power to drive meaningful change in the United States and beyond. But when division takes hold, that potential is lost, and prejudice is allowed to grow.
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